The Cambodian “Killing Fields”

“To keep you is no gain; to kill you is no loss,” Khmer Rogue maxim The Cambodian “Killing Fields” Exhumation of the Killing Fields at Choeung Ek in 1980, Democratic Kampuchea

In 1975, Pol Pot, who became leader of Cambodia declared 'Year Zero' and directs a ruthless program to "purify" Cambodian society of capitalism, Western culture, religion and all foreign influences in favor of an isolated and totally self-sufficient agrarian state. No opposition is tolerated. Why do you think people in these situations are afraid to resist even if they are in the majority of the population? Bell-ringer: year zero

Cambodia was an “offshoot” of America’s involvement in the Vietnam War. In March of 1969, President Richard Nixon began ordering a bombing campaign into Cambodia to target sites where the North Vietnamese were getting material support, known as Operation Breakfast. This is happening at a time when Cambodia was undergoing a civil war. The popular head of state in Cambodia was toppled by a pro-Western leader named Lon Nol who was hopelessly corrupt and brutal, but pro-West in a time of Communist fear. The United States would lend ground forces for an invasion of the country in April of 1970. The forces of Lon Nol were not well equipped to fight the forces of the Communist revolutionaries of Cambodia, the Khmer Rouge. As the Khmer Rouge made their way closer to the capital city of Cambodia, Phnom Penh, the United States and other countries were reluctant to continue their aid to the Cambodians. Prologue: The Vietnam War

On April 17, 1975, after five years of a civil war, the radical Communist revolutionaries, the Khmer Rogue, entered Phnom Penh triumphantly. They had just defeated the U.S. backed government of Lon Nol. The Khmer Rogue would begin a systematic exodus of the city’s population. Most American officials and citizens had evacuated by this time and those Cambodians who had sought refuge in the French embassy were forced to leave. For the next three and a half years, the Khmer Rogue rendered Cambodia a place outsiders could not enter and where some two million Cambodians would not survive. Prologue: continued

Where & When Cambodia, 1975-1979

The Khmer Rouge were a radical group of Communist revolutionaries who wanted to eradicate all Western influences from their country. • They viewed the U.S. supported government of Lon Nol as hopelessly corrupt and brutal. • They were able to build support first in the Cambodian countryside much like Fidel Castro would do before the Communist takeover of Cuba. • They would use brutality, violence, torture, and destruction in their hopes of resettling the Cambodian people into a new communal living and agricultural society. • The Khmer Rouge believed in the “irrelevance of the individual” and underwent massive campaigns to re-educate those who had been corrupted by the ideology of the previous government regime. • Though rumors abounded of their violence before they occupied Phnom Penh, many believed their violence would end once they captured the city and thus removed the “threat” of the old regime. • Once the capital and country were in their hands, the Khmer Rouge would completely seal off the country for years. How & why?

The perpetrators: The Khmer Rouge • Known for: • Black “pajamas” • Checkered red scarves • Black sandals

The perpetrators: major players Saloth Sar a.k.a Pol Pot a.k.a. “Brother Number One” Nuon Chea a.k.a “Brother # 2” Kang Kech Leu a.k.a “Brother Duch”

It is estimated that around 1.7 million people lost their lives during this genocide. That was around 21% of the country’s population. The Khmer Rouge’s targets included: 1) Those sympathetic/supportive to the corrupt regime of Lon Nol, 2) Buddhist monks, 3) ethnic minorities, and 4) members of the “educated elite.” The victims and their fate

The killing fields

TuolSleng Prison, phnompenh This former high school in Phnom Penh became "S-21," nerve center of the Khmer Rouge secret police; today it is the Tuol Sleng Museum of Genocide.

The secretiveness of the Khmer Rogue did not help matters. It took years for them to open up the country to any visitors. The American public were fed up with Vietnam and Southeast Asia and had learned to dismiss what it deemed official “rumor-mongering” and anti-Communist propaganda. We believed that reports of genocide were just handy excuses to justify our involvement in Cambodia and Vietnam. As America withdrew from Vietnam, Cambodia and Southeast Asia lost viewership and interest in the American mind. Some did not want to believe the accounts of refugees; many were dismissed as criminals who wanted to protect themselves. Not much was done during the Carter administration. We did not want to sacrifice our relationships with other countries in Asia by denouncing or acting against Cambodia. Roadblocks to intervention

After years of wrangling, in 1985 a United Nations investigation was formally conducted and genocide charges were brought against the Cambodian government. After the Cold War was finally over, the United States voted against the Khmer Rogue coalition at the United Nations and started to support the flow of humanitarian aid to Vietnam and Cambodia. In 1994, the US Congress adopted the Cambodian Genocide Justice Act to provide funding for the documentation of “crimes against humanity” conducted during the era of Pol Pot. In November of 1997, the Prime Minister of Cambodia send a letter to President Bill Clinton requesting help in setting up an international crime tribunal to bring the Khmer Rogue leadership to justice. Those proceedings have lasted to this day and are still underway. So far, five senior ranking Khmer Rogue leaders have been accused. conclusion: justice is served

JUSTICE IS SERVED: CONTINUED NuonChea a.k.a “Brother # 2” Trial underway- entering closing statement phase Kang KechLeu a.k.a “Brother Duch” 2/3/2012-Life prison sentence Khieu Samphan Trial underway

The Cambodian “Killing Fields”